Lawn Update – August

July was kind of a tough month for lawns. It was a wild month of weeds and a reemergence of grubs. In addition, the beginning of the month brought cooler temperatures and I found myself applying nitrogen to a lawn that had lost nutrients during the month of June.

As we begin August, temperatures are more summer-like and this past weekend I applied more grub killer in select areas to help stop the spread of grubs. I think grubs will be the biggest issue for lawns this summer. Right now I water once a week on the weekends. I typically water for longer periods of times and only 1-3 times a week in a normal growing year. This year, I am down to one watering day a week.

This time of year, I also see a lot of compacting of soil and grass. Make sure you are mowing in different directions each time you mow, otherwise your lawn could have permanent compacting and in some cases a development of very tough soil which is hard to grow and sustain lawn growth.

Keep going with your battle against the weeds. It appears even with warmer temperatures, the weeds are taking over areas where the grass is not so thick. I prefer to hand spray the weeds versus pulling the weeds out.